Freelance Interview Series – Using Twitter to Generate Clients with Rosemary Egbo

Freelance Interview Series – Using Twitter to Generate Clients with Rosemary Egbo

by | May 5, 2022 | Blog, Resources

Rosemary Egbo is a content marketing manager, writer, and strategist with experience in online and print media. Her Twitter community has helped her land some of her most successful projects, and she shared some tips with us on maximizing the platform.

Using Twitter to generate freelance clients

1. Why did you decide to start using Twitter for your freelance business?

I wanted a wider reach and a new audience. For three years I used LinkedIn as my main source of lead generation. One day, the thought of my LinkedIn account getting suspended crossed my mind.

Then it dawned on me that I willed so much power to a single platform I had no control over. I needed another platform for lead generation and community, so I decided to try Twitter.

 

2. Tell us about the first client you closed from Twitter — what was the process?

I noticed the client was looking for a content writer on my timeline, and I quickly sent him a DM. He asked for a few of my published samples, which I sent.

He later referred me to their Head of Content who set up a discovery call. After the discovery call, a contract was sent, and that was how I became a part of their team. That easy!

 

3. What is your process for coming up with social content?

I’ll be honest — I literally don’t have a process. I tweet whatever comes to my mind. I’m more of a spontaneous social media content creator.

I plan my Twitter threads for cohesion, but not all the time. My unplanned threads tend to perform better than my planned thread.

I just go with the flow. 😉

 

4. What was the most difficult part of starting to grow your following?

The most difficult part is showing up every day — making time to create my own content along with clients’ projects.

Sometimes I want to postpone it, but I tell myself that consistency is the ultimate recipe in building an online brand.

 

5. Outside of closing new clients on Twitter, what other benefits do you get from interacting and posting in this community?

I get tons of benefits, but here are a couple:

1. Insightful tweets from seniors in the industry: I have a notebook where I write down most of the things I learn on the platform. The Twitter community is a great source for expert quotes, too. I love to weave them into my content.

2. Strong support system: Sometimes I get exhausted, and tweets from my community encourage me. They make me feel like I’m not alone. On weekends, I host a Twitter Space — Freelance Tales. It’s Twitter Space where freelancers across the globe get to share their wins, losses, mistakes, strategies and tips. Believe me when I say that those Spaces have been insightful and impactful.

 

6. Any additional advice for freelancers new to Twitter who want to build a following?

1. Follow these three sets of people:

  • People you’d want to work with
  • People you want to learn from
  • People you’d want to teach

2. Focus on creating valuable content
3. Don’t let low engagement deter you. Engagement will come, it always does.
4. Stay consistent.

 

Follow Rosemary on Twitter to get inspired and kick off your social presence.

7 Tricks for Part-Time Freelancers with Full-Time Jobs

7 Tricks for Part-Time Freelancers with Full-Time Jobs

by | May 5, 2022 | Blog, Resources

We’ve been hearing the same question again and again from our community: How do I balance a full-time job with part-time freelance work?

People pick up freelance gigs on top of their day jobs all the time, for a variety of reasons. They might need or want the extra income, or they’re easing into full-time freelancing gradually, or they’re just looking for a creative side gig that pays.

Whatever the reasoning, people who decide to do both all face one shared challenge: managing their time effectively. Here are some pro tips and tricks for successfully freelancing as a FTE.

How to balance your FTE & your side gig

1. Start off by clarifying your goals.

So… why am I really doing this? It’s a question we should all ask ourselves before jumping headfirst into any venture. Do you have a vision for your freelance future? Is it to go full-time eventually? To pad your income? Are you looking to shift careers or industries? Or do you just want to build up your resume beyond your day job? Getting clear on your goals will help you determine how much time you can and should truly dedicate to your side hustle.

2. Set a schedule.

You’re trying to get a lot done. And most of us are really bad at guessing how long our work will take us. We tend to underestimate… like, a lot. Plus, switching focus between tasks on the reg absolutely kills productivity. So to avoid getting caught in the cycle of doing everything and finishing nothing, we recommend creating clear boundaries around your freelance work—and always estimating UP. You can experiment with productivity hacks like time-blocking, dedicating a chunk of hours each day or week to one specific task or project. It makes a huge difference.

3. Set communication expectations with your clients.

Let your freelance clients know when and how they will hear from you. And if your response time might be impacted by your full time gig, share that too. When it comes to client communication, the best practice is to set crystal clear expectations from the beginning of a project or work relationship. But it’s never too late to clarify. So if you find yourself worrying regularly about delays, it might be time to set new boundaries and expectations.

4. Be realistic with what you can offer to your clients.

In addition to underestimating, we tend to overpromise. Of course, you want to do incredible work incredibly fast. And your clients probably want that too. But we’re all human here. Make sure you’re not spreading yourself too thin, saying yes to deadlines and deliverables that just won’t work.You may need to move things around, and that’s okay, as long as you clearly communicate changing needs to your clients.

5. Don’t ignore self-care in order to get more done.

Look, we’ve all done it. We’ve prioritized another hour of work over a long bath. We’ve missed hangs with friends because of deadlines. And we’ve eaten meals from our desks to attend meetings that really. didn’t. matter. But we don’t take pride in it—not even the ability to skillfully mute while chewing—and we definitely try not to make a habit of it. Doing good work and making extra money is great, but not at the expense of your physical or mental health. Those come first. Make sure you can maintain a balanced lifestyle. Decide what that looks like for you, and then reverse-engineer it from there.

6. Network with other freelancers.

Whether you’re full-time or part-time freelancing, having a community is always a good thing. Your connections give you the space to bounce ideas and thoughts off of people who get it. And having peers who face the same struggles is incredibly affirming. We highly recommend joining a freelance community. There are loads of specialized ones out there that offer support, connection, and resources to help you thrive in your work. Find your people.

7. Make sure you have the right systems in place.

If you notice yourself spending more and more time on the same repetitive, manual admin tasks and wondering why you can’t get more of the real work done, it might be time to audit your systems. Having the right business tools in place can automate or even eliminate the mind-numbing activities that soak up your precious time when you’re already balancing so much. If you plan to freelance steadily (full time or as a side gig), then at a minimum, you should have solid freelance software to back you up. And hey—we can help with that. 😉

With Harlow, you can create proposals and contracts, track your hours, invoice your clients, and keep tabs on all your to-dos and client updates. You always have a full scope of your work, in one easy-to-navigate dashboard. So if you’re the kind of person who wants to do it all, but you know you need support managing your workload… and you want to accomplish a lot but also feel like a human… we’ve got you. Start a free trial to give it a go.

Freelance Interview Series – Taking Vacation with Adrienne Sheares

Freelance Interview Series – Taking Vacation with Adrienne Sheares

by | Apr 13, 2022 | Blog, Resources

Adrienne Sheares is an award-winning social media marketer and the owner of ViviMae Labs, a data-driven social marketing consultancy. She has over a decade of experience and a track record of delivering impressive work for clients like Issa Rae, AARP, and Discovery.

Despite her demanding schedule, Adrienne manages to prioritize her OOO time. She shared her perspective on the importance of work-life balance and some pro tips on taking time off without shutting down.

Taking Vacation as a Freelancer

1. Is time-off, specifically vacation, important to you? Why?

Yes! I’m a creative person, but my creativity starts to wane when I’m stressed out. I’m not a robot; I need time to enjoy life. Taking time off is essential for me to recharge. I notice that I’m more thoughtful and excited about my work when I come back.

Sometimes if I feel myself taking too long to complete basic tasks, I’ll give myself a three-day weekend. Taking time off to get ahead might seem counterproductive, but I find myself flying through my to-do list after getting proper rest.

I’ve worked with clients who have team members who never take off for the “good of the company.” But their sacrifice didn’t really help the company. They were making silly mistakes and weren’t producing their best work—you could tell they were running on fumes.

 

2. How often do you take time off as a freelancer?

I generally take four weeks off a year. I take a lot of mini-vacations attached to weekends to get the most time off without having to miss too many workdays. Thursdays through Tuesdays are my jam.

This year, I’m being more strategic with my time off. Before, I treated all time off the same. This led me to burn out a lot, especially last year. Not all time off is created equal. For example, while fun, family time is not very relaxing for me. My mom will have me running errands, teaching her things on the computer, and helping her out around the house. Being a bridesmaid in a destination wedding is also not very relaxing, nor is getting your home organized. So this year, I’m separating the two. One category is life obligations, and the other is relaxation. That way I can make sure I’m getting enough rest.

I’m testing out just taking time off and not doing anything, including travel, since that can be stressful as well.

 

3. How do you go about planning for a vacation as a freelancer?

I’m a big planner, so I generally plan my year out in advance. Of course, I don’t plan every little vacation, but things like weddings, graduations, and big vacations serve as the anchor that I plan around. From there, I block off my calendar.

My clients are excellent, and as long as work gets done or I give them an alternative deadline and notice, they’re fine—and very happy for me.

 

4. What was the hardest part about taking your first vacation as a freelancer?

Honestly, nothing. I just worked ahead and took off and enjoyed.

5. Do you completely turn off work while on vacation?

Not always. I take three different types of vacations as a freelancer. 1) Working Vacation 2) Part-Time Vacation 3) Unplugged.

Working Vacation

The first I wouldn’t really call a vacation. My work schedule stays the same, but I have a change of scenery in a place like Florida. I do this when I have a family gathering or a friend’s wedding out of state and I don’t necessarily want to take time off. Flights are typically cheaper if you travel mid-week so I’ll work in a different and hopefully more tropical location. I’ll also take a long lunch to enjoy my new surroundings during the day.

Part-time Vacation

I’m still working but not full-out. For example, my family rented a beach house for a week. I didn’t want to take a week off, but I also didn’t want to miss out on the fun, so I worked in the mornings the first half of the week and then took completely off for the second half. That way, I could get some work done, but have family time and rest time.

Unplugged

I do this once or twice a year. I’m unreachable and don’t even bring my laptop. My clients know in advance, and if need be, I work ahead or have a backup if the project requires it. I will spend a few weeks in South Africa for my postponed honeymoon this year. I cannot wait and will be completely unreachable.

6. What advice would you give to other freelancers who want to take vacation or time-off and aren’t sure how?

There’s never a good time to take time off, so just do it. Also, consider partnering up with other freelancers if you want to have coverage while you’re out. My clients mean the world to me, so I don’t want just anyone helping me. I generally work with other freelancers months before I need to take off so I can feel good about unplugging.

The first time I did this was during the pandemic in May 2020. My wedding had to be postponed due to shutdowns, so I opted to get married in my living room and took a few days off to celebrate. That was around the George Floyd murder. I knew my client had content scheduled that would not be appropriate given the current events unfolding. I frantically logged on to Slack to tell my client to stop all social media—but I didn’t have to. I saw the freelancer I hired for the project had beaten me to it. I logged off and went back to my honeymoon in my living room.

 

Give Adrienne a follow on Twitter or check out ViviMae Labs to connect with Adrienne.

New Freelancers: Stop Setting Year 1 Goals. Do This Instead.

New Freelancers: Stop Setting Year 1 Goals. Do This Instead.

by | Apr 11, 2022 | Blog, Resources

This is a guest post contributed by Stefan Palios. Stefan is a freelance coach, writer, and creator of The Growth Blueprint. He helps other freelancers, coaches, and creators finetune their business practices. 

Wanting to make money freelancing is noble.

And a lot of freelancers (53%) earn more than they did at a full-time job while 61% say they have more free time.

Sometimes, people hit these milestones in year one. But I’ve been coaching freelancers for a few years now, both one-on-one and through my group course, and have noticed a troubling pattern: people who set aggressive goals in year one often burn out before they reach them.

That’s not to say goals aren’t valuable. They can be helpful from a motivation perspective if that works for you.

However, in the context of your first year freelancing, setting goals is a fruitless exercise from a business strategy perspective because you simply don’t know what will happen. You’ve got limited control over your environment and need to be focused on surviving, not staring down lofty ambitions.

Instead of setting goals, I encourage all new freelancers to focus on building the right foundation and then shifting focus to relentless progress.

Here’s what it looks like.

Money comes from a strong foundation.

Step 1: Set your foundation

Freelancers are entrepreneurs.

That means you’re not just doing work for pay (that’s employment), you’re providing solutions to your customers through your work.

In order to do that effectively, you need some processes, systems, and ways of work in place. For first-year freelancers, your foundation only needs three parts to get going.

Your focus and one-liner

Your focus is what you do for clients (writing, coding, editing, designing, etc.). To find your focus, think about what you are good at and what you like to do. From there, you can identify potential clients with the TNN (Talent, Network, Needs) framework.

Your one-liner is the easy to remember and easy to repeat way you describe what you do. The formula looks like:

“I’m a freelance [SKILL] for [TYPE OF CUSTOMER]”

The good thing about your one-liner is it can change over time, so don’t fret if you pick something that you’re not sure will work in six months. Just go with it and see if it piques market curiosity, which is when people start asking questions about how you might be able to help them. This is in contrast to intellectual curiosity, which is when someone is confused about who you are and is trying to understand you.

Your online presence

Everyone needs a presence online. You don’t necessarily have to be active on every social media platform, but you need the basics:

Website: A simple landing page that explains who you are, what you do, and offers a way to get in touch with you. I like Carrd and Softr (both no-code builders with free tiers).

Social bios: Whichever platform you choose to be present on, have a clean bio (usually your one-liner) with an easy way to get in touch with you such as open DMs, link in bio, or open connection requests.

Mastering the referral to drum up new business

Too many freelancers ask for referrals with something like this: “I’m a freelance writer! Contact me with opportunities or if you want to talk” or “I’m a freelance writer, do you know anyone looking to hire that you can introduce me to?”

These two examples (and all the different versions of them) are fundamentally asking someone else to do work for you, which won’t go well in the long run.

If you want more success, make your referral request into an offer to help.

Try this: “I’m a freelance writer. If you know anyone facing content challenges or thinking about content, I’d be happy to chat with them and see if I’m a fit to help them out.”

The key here is the word help. As a solution providing entrepreneur, you aren’t trying to get hired, you’re trying to identify people who have problems you can help with or solve. This method also lets the person making an introduction look good – they actually gain social capital because they are solving a colleague’s problem by bringing you into the fold.

Step 2: Measure progress

Once you have the right foundation in place, your first year should be about progress.

That means looking at your whole business:

  • Do you have interest from potential clients?
  • Are you closing deals?
  • Are the deals you close turning into clients you like?
  • Is your business progressively easier to run?
  • Are you templatizing routine communications to save you time?
  • Are you asking for and getting testimonials from happy clients?

Whenever you think about how you can improve, it should be directly tied to revenue. It’s a simple heuristic: if it will make you money, do it. If it won’t, leave it for now.

If you’re a metrics person, here are a few you can track and benchmark:

Book rate: Of people you talk to / who reach out, how many book calls with you?

Diagnosis rate: How often are you able to accurately say what someone needs / that they need your work?

Turn down rate: How often are you turning someone down because they are a bad fit for what you offer?

Offer rate: How often are you making proposals based on the # of folks you talk to?

Success rate: How often are your offers being accepted / you’re making money?

Testimonials: After every successful project with a happy client, are they offering a testimonial? Or if you ask, are they agreeing?

Step 3: Tweak as you go

Seeking progress is great when it’s working. But if it’s not, here’s how you can think about tweaking and adjusting.

Emotions

You are an entrepreneur, but you’re also working solo. Think about how you’re feeling about certain processes. Chances are if it sucks for you, it also sucks for your client. Think about how you would want the process to go, and see if you can change things.

For example, if you find that your calls feel rushed and impersonal, think about what outcome you’d prefer. If you would prefer a bit of chit chat at the start of the call, add that for your next call and see what happens.

Friction

How often did you have to repeat yourself, correct someone, or repeat a task to get the desired outcome? That’s friction.

Do everything you can to reduce it, such as:

Communication friction: How-to guides and FAQs.
Repetitive friction: Templates and checklists.
Misunderstanding friction: Clarify all things in writing.

Money comes from a strong foundation

When you set goals, you state what you want and have to work toward it. However, this can lead to unintended consequences and additional work you don’t want to do. When you focus on a solid foundation and progress, you can still earn great money but you avoid some problems you never needed to address in the first place.

Once you have a solid foundation to stand on, your only job is to get a little better every time you can. Each experience will teach you something new. And the best part is all of this happens while you’re actually making money.

Freelance Interview Series – Building Your Personal Brand with Codi Johnson

Freelance Interview Series – Building Your Personal Brand with Codi Johnson

by | Mar 29, 2022 | Blog, Resources

Codi Johnson is the social media marketing strategist behind Mini Media Marketing. She has over seven years of experience with social media management, strategy, and content creation, and she specializes in helping businesses develop an online identity that is rooted in authenticity.

Not only does she help other humans figure out what works for them on social, but she also has built her own community on Twitter, and currently has over 11k followers. We talked to Codi about how to build a personal brand that lands.

Building Your Personal Brand

1. What does a personal brand look like/mean to you?

Personal brand to me is the physical and non-physical aspects that make you who you are. Physically for me, I like to rock my afro, wear gold jewelry, and always have my nails painted. As for the non-physical aspects, I associate my brand with my love for charcuterie boards, social media marketing, cooking, ‘90s music, fitness, and family values.

A personal brand isn’t something that you have to magically whip up—it’s already in you. It’s everything that makes you, you. And it doesn’t always have to be “professional”. It can be the quirky, fun things that are associated with you as an individual.

2. How did you decide that you needed a personal brand and how did you go about defining what that looked like?

I’ve always had a personal brand, but I’ve never paid much mind to it. Over the past 5-7 years I became obsessed with social media marketing, branding, nails, music, fitness, and other things I now identify with. I would constantly share fun articles, videos, or mini-projects as a way to showcase to the world that, Hey this me! This is what I like, this is what I’m good at, and this is part of my brand.

I wanted to express and share more about the things that I liked because it connected me to the communities that I wanted to be a part of. I have always had a passion for marketing, nails, music, and fitness—I used to be a soccer player, so I was already invested in everything that aligns with my personal brand.

3. Have you seen the hiring process as a freelancer shift for you as your personal brand grew in recognition?

YES! 100% yes. Especially over the past couple of years, as I’ve started to tweet more about social media marketing and other things I find interesting, I’ve received heaps of referrals from my social networks.

4. Do you think all freelancers should have personal websites? If so, what do you think is necessary for them to include?

Yes! Even if it’s just one page, it’s so important to have a place for your prospective clients to learn more about you, your work, and the things you like to do. As for sections to include, there should always be an About section. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve visited websites and been instantly turned off when there was no bio or personal touch! Tell me more about you—your likes, things you do outside of work. If your prospective client reads that you love to go kayaking, and they do too, you’ve already made a connection, and that can develop into something deeper. At the end of the day, you’re doing business with humans. Human connection is so important. Don’t lose sight of that.

Secondly, have a place for your Portfolio. It could be a link to your work or case studies that give people a sense of the success you can help them achieve.

Thirdly, add a Services page. What do you offer? What comes in each package? There are lots of different opinions on whether or not to share your rates on your site, and that’s something that freelancers have to decide for themselves. Personally, I don’t share package rates on my site as they vary depending on each project. However, I do share starting rates.

And, lastly, I would also include a Contact page. Keep it simple.

5. What channels do you recommend freelancers leverage to build their brand?

This depends on the industry of work. But, as a marketer, I’ve found that Twitter is my favorite platform to connect with other marketers and industry leaders. Conversations never stop on there. I love it! I used to be a LinkedIn hater, but truthfully, it has provided me with some amazing job opportunities. For example, in 2021, after doing a search for “social media strategists” in the US, I was able to connect with another social media strategist. I messaged her to let her know I was happy to connect and maybe we could get to know each other. Since that message, we talk bi-weekly, she has sent me three clients in the past year, and I’ve partnered her with a colleague of mine to give a presentation to our college students.

You could be on any platform really, but it’s how you use it to your advantage that matters. I’d say pick two platforms that you know you can own, and just start creating content. Start publishing some of your work, spark conversations, share interesting articles (tag authors), go LIVE, collaborate with other industry leaders. The possibilities are endless.

6. What other advice would you give to a freelancer who is just starting to build their personal brand?

Don’t worry about what other people think. Be you! When it comes to owning your personal brand in the hopes of landing more clients, you have to show how you can provide value. People don’t know what they don’t know. If you have an amazing stat to share from the work you’ve created, share that! If you have a testimonial from a client that you’re proud of, share it. If you want people to know you for graphic design, start incorporating more of that into the conversations you have on your social channels.

Only you know what works for you. I know it’s easy to get consumed with the successes of others, but focusing your attention on what other people are doing will only take away from your own success. If you’re just starting out with building a personal brand, I’d suggest making a list of the things that you like and the groups that you are already part of, and start spending more time connecting with people in those communities. Keep the list to about 5-7 things. You don’t need to overwhelm yourself.But do remember, that no one is going to build your brand for you. So, be authentically and unapologetically you. People will admire that and remember you for it.

 

Give Codi a follow on Twitter or check out Mini Media Marketing to learn more about the services Codi offers.